


Amnesia?

by Nix (CrimsonQuills)



Category: Once a Thief (TV)
Genre: Amnesia, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-10-05
Updated: 2011-10-05
Packaged: 2017-10-24 08:15:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/261117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrimsonQuills/pseuds/Nix
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Vic loses his memory, Mac takes advantage of the opportunity to change their relationship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Amnesia?

**Author's Note:**

> This is for Em, who was the first person to e-mail me or sign my guest book in weeks, inspiring this story. See? Feedback does pay! *grin* Please let me know what you think.

Mac strode into the briefing room, late as usual, and found Li Ann seated but, surprisingly, no sign of Victor. Before he could even sit down, The Director entered and said briskly, "Briefing's off. You two, come with me to the hospital."

"The hospital?" Li Ann asked, confused.

"Victor was in a car accident last night," The Director explained on her way out the door. Mac and Li Ann scrambled to follow. "Around midnight, on his way home, a young lady stepped out onto the street. No crosswalk, no warning. Victor swerved to miss her and wrapped his car around a tree instead."

"How is he?" Mac asked, concerned for his partner.

"Head trauma. The doctors expect that he'll wake up sometime today, but they can't say what kind of condition he'll be in." By this time, The Director had reached her car, and she got in and shut the door. Mac and Li Ann hastened to their own cars.

By the time the two partners reached the hospital, The Director has already cornered Vic's doctor. She waved them over when she caught sight of them. "Mac, Li Ann, this is Doctor Singh."

Sensing that this was his cue, the doctor turned to a set of x-rays he had displayed. "Mr. Mansfield suffered a blow to the-"

"Cut to the chase, doctor," Li Ann cut in abruptly. Then, in a softer tone, "How is Vic?"

The doctor sighed and looked reluctant. "After he woke up earlier today, we determined that Mr. Mansfield is suffering from partial amnesia. Apparently, the last thing he can remember is being in a prison cell." Doctor Singh shot an inquiring glance at The Director. She ignored him, instead drawing Mac and Li Ann to one side.

"This means he doesn't remember the Agency," Mac hissed.

"This means he doesn't remember us," Li Ann added. Then she suddenly realized something. "He won't remember me! Not even that we were engaged…"

"Victor is a sitting duck like this," The Director said, cutting through the emotions that were building up. "Whether or not you know it, the Agency protects you. All of you. If Victor leaves this hospital with no knowledge of the Agency, he'll lose that protection. And believe me, Vic has a lot of enemies out there," she finished.

"So we bring him up to speed," Mac said simply.

"Right," The Director confirmed. "But understand this, you are to tell no one that Victor's knowledge of the Agency is not his own. We could all get in trouble for giving up sensitive information."

"Won't telling him about his past jeopardize his chance of regaining his memory?" Li Ann asked.

The Director hesitated, "So the doctor told me. But not telling him will jeopardize his life. Let's go." Mac and Li Ann nodded agreement and followed The Director over to Vic's room in recovery.

The three of them cautiously pushed open the door to Vic's room and walked inside. Vic was sitting up in bed, dressed in a hospital gown with the blankets pulled up around his waist. His head was wrapped with a bandage, but otherwise he looked fine. Looked fine, that is, until he directed his gaze towards his partners and said, "Hi. Who are you?" It was an honest question - he really didn't know them, and he was being polite.

Mac and Li Ann couldn't help choking a little at the question, though they knew it had been coming. The Director took over for them.

"Victor. Have the doctors told you anything about yourself?"

"They told me that I have amnesia," he answered. "I guess that's kind of obvious since the last thing I remember is a prison cell and I'm certainly not in a prison hospital right now," he grinned. "Can't say I'm objecting. Before that memory, everything is perfectly clear."

"Okay," The Director continued, "The doctors told me not to tell you anything about the past couple of years," she ignored Victor's surprised expression, "but I have to tell you. If I don't, your life would be in danger. No, don't say anything. Allow me to explain.

"I came to you in your cell in prison and offered you deal. You work for me, in law enforcement, or you stay in jail. You chose to work for me. So you became an agent in the Agency, which is an international law enforcement organization. Most of our work is done in the guise of other agencies - the Agency is not a matter of public knowledge.

"Despite the fact that you were released from prison through the Agency's authority, you were never vindicated in the eyes of the law. The Agency protects you from your enemies on both sides of the law. That's why we can't let you out onto the street without filling you in - now that you know, the Agency will continue to protect you. But you mustn't ever let on that we told you. It would get us all in trouble."

"And them?" Victor asked The Director, chucking his head at Mac and Li Ann.

"They're your partners. You've been working with them in the Agency for two years."

Hesitating, Mac managed to overcome the surreal feeling of the moment and stepped forward, offering his hand to Vic, "Mac Ramsey." He paused and a grin broke onto his face, "This certainly beats how we met the first time," he added.

"How did we meet the first time?" Vic asked. Mac's grin faded somewhat, and he promised he'd tell the story another time.

Li Ann decided to follow Mac's lead and reintroduced herself, "Li Ann Tsei." As Vic let go of her hand, she stepped back and couldn't stop herself from saying, "This is just too weird. We've known each other for years!" Abruptly upset, Li Ann pushed the door open and ran from the room. Sighing, The Director nodded to Victor and followed Li Ann from the room.

"Did I do something wrong?" Vic asked, concerned.

"No, man," Mac said. "It's just…well…a year ago you and Li Ann were engaged. She broke it off, but it must be tough to have your former fiancée not even remember your name."

Vic was quiet and serious for a moment. Then, in an attempted to lighten the mood, he said, "So tell me about how we first met."

Mac grinned at the memory. "Okay, a bit of background first. A year and a half before we met, I was engaged to Li Ann…"

***

The Director offered a sympathetic shoulder to Li Ann who, though surprised by The Director's sudden sensitivity, accepted gratefully. She then decided to go home, and The Director made her way back to Vic's room to tell him that the doctors were going to release him. She found Mac sitting on the edge of his bed, gesturing widely as he finished off some story. Both of them were laughing, completely relaxed and companionable. The lack of tension in the air surprised The Director for a second, until she realized that Vic's amnesia had erased all reasons for their rivalry, even on the superficial level.

"Boys," she said as she pushed open the door and stepped into the room. "The Doctors have released Vic, but they want one of us to be responsible for him, just in case. Li Ann's obviously not in any shape for it, and I've got…business, so you're stuck with him, Mac."

"Yeah, sure, no problem," Mac replied, surprising his boss again. "We'll stay at Vic's place," he said, grinning mischievously. The Director remembered that the two of them always seemed to have to stay at Mac's place when they had to stick together, and realized Mac was taking advantage of Vic. All she said was, "Would you try and leave some of the dishes intact this time? The Agency does provide those, you know."

"Seeing as Vic's forgotten he ever took cooking lessons, the dishes and I should survive," Mac smirked.

"I cook?" Vic asked after he'd finished dressing.

"You tried," Mac allowed, slapping his partner on the back and leading him out of the hospital. The Director just shook her head and followed them.

***

Mac watched Victor curiously explore his own apartment, picking up the occasional object and staring at it as if willing it to impart its secrets to him. Eventually, Vic sighed. "There's some familiar stuff in here," he said reluctantly, "but I can pin all of it down to before I was sent to prison. It's a weird feeling, to be in a room I remember, with things I remember, and then to have one or two things out of place. It's like someone came in a rearranged everything."

"You know, Vic," Mac said, "you're thinking about this too much. If you concentrate on it so hard you'll never remember. Relax! Let's go out tonight."

"Out?" Vic asked.

"Yeah, to a club," Mac answered, rolling his eyes.

"I don't go clubbing, Mac," Vic pointed out. "I haven't lost my whole memory, just the last two years!"

"Trust me, Vic, you need to learn how to have a good time," Mac said solemnly, before cracking into a grin. Vic sighed and shook his head, but eventually gave in.

Mac was still grinning with his victory when he and Vic arrived at Mac's favorite club. As Vic stepped out of the car and looked skeptically up at the neon sign above the entrance, Mac experienced an unexpected pang of regret. Regret that Vic couldn't remember the last time they'd been to a club together, that he wouldn't reply to Mac's little barbs with a grin and a stab of his own. Quickly, he quashed the feeling. //This is your chance, // he told himself. //Your chance to get a little closer to Vic, maybe to build something other than the prickly friendship we have…had…oh hell!// An sudden wave of depression hit Mac as he paid the bouncer at the door the cover charge and followed Vic into the club. //What were you thinking?! Vic still remembers most of his life. Even if he doesn't remember he's not interested in you, he remembers he's not interested in guys. And what do you do? You bring him to this club!//

On the dance floor, there were nearly as many same sex couples dancing as those of opposite sexes. Vic had stopped, a little startled, just inside the door. Mac tried desperately to act casual as he leaned in and yelled into his partner's ear, "C'mon, let's go to the bar and get a drink."

For his part, Vic was having flashbacks to his days in the vice squad. He remembered those days, and this club, very well. He was a regular here months - //years// he reminded himself - ago. Already he could feel himself relaxing into the familiar atmosphere, his body letting go of the tension that had built up during his hospital stay. He caught sight of the bartender, the same man who'd run the bar when he'd been in Vice. Vic debated pretending not to recognize the man for a moment, but mentally shrugged it off. He couldn't think of or remember any reason why he should keep such a thing from Mac.

So when Pete saw him and called out, "Hey, Vic! Long time no see."

Vic replied, "Hey, Pete. Yeah, well, I got transferred out of Vice a couple of…years ago. Then I had a little bit of trouble with IA. Haven't had much chance to come in." Mac watched this exchange, openly surprised.

"I heard about that trouble," Pete said carefully. "How'd you get out of it?"

"Friends in high places," Vic said casually. He'd been making his way closer to the bar, and Mac trailed after him. Reaching the bar, he found his favorite brand of beer already waiting for him. "You haven't lost your touch, Pete. It's been what? More than two years since I've been in here and still you remember my drink."

"That's my business," Pete replied with a grin. A moment later he had a drink on the bar for Mac. "I had no idea you two knew each other," he commented.

"We've been working together for a couple of years now," Mac replied. "I didn't know Vic used to be a regular in here."

"Oh, yeah," Pete replied, smiling, "real regular." He then moved on to serve some other customers.

"I take it I never mentioned this place," Vic said, glancing over at Mac.

"From they way you talked, Vic," Mac replied wryly, "you'd think you were a monk. I wish you remembered the time I hauled you along to that strip joint. You were trying so hard not to look…" Mac chuckled. Vic was quiet. At Mac's words, he'd had a brief flash of himself having a drink with Mac, making some comment about knowing how these places worked… Mac mistook his sudden silence. "Oh, hey, I'm sorry. I don't mean to make you uncomfortable, you know, talking about stuff you can't remember."

Vic shook the haze of memory that had fallen over him. "No problem. I mean, if I'm supposed to act like nothing has changed, I'm going to need to know a little of the history, right?"

"Right. For now, though, let's just enjoy ourselves," Mac said. Vic nodded, smiling, and got another drink for each of them before moving over to a table by the dance floor. It wasn't long before the two of them were laughing together. Vic was sharing anecdotes from his time on the force and, after an awkward moment when Mac revealed he used to be a thief, which Vic didn't remember, Mac responded with stories of his time with the Tangs.

"So why did you leave?" Vic asked after they'd calmed down a bit.

Mac sobered. "They wanted me to take over the gun running part of the operation. Hell, I didn't even know we had a gun running division until the Old Man asked me to take it over! Li Ann and I already wanted out…that was the last straw. We stole a whole lot of money from them, but Michael found out we were planning on leaving and came after us. The short of it is, Li Ann got out and into safe hands in time and I didn't. I survived, but I got sent to Hong Kong prison. That was where the Director found me."

They were silent for awhile before Victor asked, "Why do I get the feeling we've never done this kind of thing before?"

Mac shrugged. "Because we never have. Li Ann was always a source of tension for us. To tell the truth," Mac hesitated, "I haven't felt anything more than friendship with her for more than a year. But by then, it'd gotten to be habit between us. We needled each other all the time. I like to think, though, that lately it's just been in good fun." He stopped and took a sip from his beer.

"I wish I could reassure you it was," Vic said quietly. Mac just shrugged again. Vic watched his partner in comfortable silence for awhile. He felt an attraction stir, and wondered just what Mac made of Vic's familiarity with the place. From what he'd mentioned of their partnership, he had no idea that the ex-cop came here to pick up guys as often as girls…

//Now's not the time,// he thought after awhile. //I get the feeling there's more going on here than one night.//

***Two Months Later***

Mac and Vic entered the briefing room together, laughing over some joke. Li Ann watched with a little bit of puzzlement and a little bit of envy. She hadn't been able to accept the new Victor nearly as easily as Mac had, and she wished occasionally that she was a part of their easy camaraderie. The puzzlement was at how quickly the two of them had rebuilt, even strengthened, their friendship.

The briefing was pretty routine. They'd had some hard cases in the past two months, and The Director was giving them a break with an easy surveillance. As Mac and Vic sat in Vic's truck, watching their target mow his lawn, Mac started to say, "Do you remember the time- Oh, man. I'm sorry, Vic. I keep doing that."

For his part, Vic knew what Mac was going to mention. The time they'd been on surveillance and had missed the target because he was dressed as a woman…a woman Mac had admired. A guilty pang hit Vic and he wondered again why he hadn't mentioned his returning memory to his partner. Bits and pieces of the past two years had been surfacing ever since the accident, but he hadn't told Mac. "Don't sweat it, Mac," he said aloud, "it's okay."

//Why are you doing this?// he asked himself. //You ought to tell Mac. You've got nearly your whole memory back…// He sighed mentally, but said nothing. If he was honest with himself, he'd have to admit that he'd been enjoying the past two months far too much to want to risk his and Mac's changed friendship. He'd always liked Mac, but he'd never let himself open up to the other man. Even after Li Ann broke off their engagement, even after he realized he didn't love her anymore, her presence made Vic and Mac feel as if they ought to be competing.

Vic's amnesia gave them a chance to try again. He hadn't realized this until some of his memory had returned, of course, but Mac had. They'd started going to Pete's on a regular basis, having a drink and talking most of the night. Once or twice they'd had a little too much to drink and had ended up piling into a cab and spending the night sharing an apartment. Vic restrained a sigh and glanced over at Mac, who was peering through a pair of binoculars and into the target's living room.

Before much of his memory had returned, Vic had realized just how strongly he was attracted to the other man. A few months in prison, a year or so engaged to Li Ann, and the antagonism they hadn't been able to get over had pushed it down. But when all that was wiped away, the desire he felt stirred heat in him. As his memories resurfaced, the attraction hadn't lessened, it had grown.

//Face it, Vic,// he told himself, //you're falling in love with him. That's why you won't tell him you've got your memory back. You're afraid he won't want to spend time with you if he knows you're back to being the same as always. You don't want to lose him.// Vic couldn't hold the sigh back this time.

***

Mac apologized for his comment and winced internally. He'd been doing that a lot lately - forgetting Vic had amnesia and starting to make some comment about a case they'd worked together. It was the fault of his wishful thinking, Mac knew. He and Victor had been enjoying each other's company a lot in the past two months, but Mac kept finding himself missing the old Victor. There wasn't much of a difference, Mac knew. If he and Vic had been able to relax around each other before the amnesia, he expected they'd have a friendship much like he and Vic now shared. It was the idea that Mac missed. All the things they'd been through and done for each other. The shared memories and the inside jokes.

//You miss the man you fell in love with,// he told himself. Sometimes it almost seemed like Vic remembered, like he was about to correct Mac on one of his stories or add a comment of his own. But he never did, and Mac realized it was just his own wishful thinking. //Face it, Mac. The memories are gone.//

He didn't hear Vic sigh because his own sigh disguised it.

***Later that night***

Mac and Vic pushed their way into the crowd at Pete's. "Hey!" Vic yelled to the bartender over the music. "What's going on in here? The place is packed!"

"New band," Pete yelled back, handing each of them a beer. "Believe it or not, I managed to save you two your regular table. Don't ask me how, seeing as it's right by the dance floor."

"Thanks Pete!" Mac shouted over the din. Pete watched the two of them moved through the crowd over to their table. He'd been watching them ever since they came in together for the first time. He knew that they weren't together, despite their regular patronage of his bar. //Completely clueless,// he thought to himself. //They ought to be together. Anyone can see they both want to be.// Shaking his head, he moved to pour another drink for a woman at the end of the bar.

Mac and Vic found their table, mysteriously unoccupied, at the edge of the dance floor and attempted to see the band through the crowd of people dancing. The partners abandoned any attempt at conversation, knowing they'd yell themselves raw in a couple of minutes. Instead they sat in companionable silence and listened to the band, which was actually quite good. Mac and Vic had been surprised to discover that Pete's musicians played music both of them could enjoy. At this revelation, Mac had chuckled and it told Vic it was "a miracle".

Two days later, Vic remembered enough to get the joke.

As a particularly good song came on, Vic was struck with the urge to dance. He glanced over at Mac, shrugged mentally, and stood. //He doesn't know you remember,// Vic reminded himself, //if this gets awkward, you can have an epiphany later and remember everything. Then you go back to the way it was before. Take a chance.// He leaned down so his mouth was near Mac's ear and asked, "Want to dance?"

Mac's eye's widened in surprise, but then he grinned and nodded. Vic smiled with pleased surprise, and the two of them moved onto the dance floor. The music had a heavy beat and the space on the dance floor was tight. Vic and Mac faced each other, less than a foot between them, and moved somewhat stiffly. The beat thundered through Mac's veins, the warm voice of the singer washed over him. A surge in the music triggered a surge of desire, and thinking, //What the hell//, Mac threw caution to the winds.

He reached out and placed his hands on Vic's hips and drew him closer. The former thief, looking down instead of into Vic's eyes, let the tension drain out of his limbs, so that he moved liquidly. It was as if the music moved him itself. Under his hands, Vic also relaxed. Mac slowly met his partner's eyes and saw there a heat the matched his own. Their hips moved together to the beat, and Vic put his hands on Mac's shoulders as they danced deeper into the crowd, the bump and grind of other couples moving them even closer together.

Before he could stop the words from slipping out, Mac found he'd whispered, "I miss you."

He thought that the noise of the music had drowned out his words. He knew he was wrong when Vic suddenly hauled him off of the dance floor and out of the club.

Outside, the music faint now, he asked, "What?"

"I didn't say anything," Mac protested awkwardly.

"You said you missed me," Vic accused. Mac just shrugged helplessly. "So is it true?" Vic asked, his voice gentler.

"Yeah," Mac admitted.

"Why?" Vic asked. "You said we were always jabbing at each other, that I never knew how to have fun. Why should you miss that?"

Mac ran a hand through his hair and debated lying. In the end, he decided he couldn't…shouldn't. "Because I fell in love with you," he whispered, watching the ground.

"But you don't love me now," Vic stated, barely able to get the words around the knot in his throat.

"No!" Mac protested again, then tried to explain. "I still do. I mean, I want what we have now, but I want what we had before, too." He sighed explosively, frustrated as he attempted to explain. "I miss the inside jokes and the trust that grew instead of being taken for granted. I miss all the things we went through together…Do you understand?"

"I think so," Vic said quietly. "Mac…I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault you don't remember," Mac said wearily.

"No," Vic said, shaking his head. "I'm sorry for not telling you. I'm so sorry." Now Mac just looked confused. "I remember," Vic admitted, "the memories have been coming back ever since the accident. I remember nearly everything now. I just never told anyone."

"Why?" Mac asked, hurt and angry.

"Because everything was so much better after the accident!" Vic exclaimed. "Don't you see? For the first time, I didn't feel like I had to be possessive of Li Ann. She didn't expect me to be, no one did. You and I started spending time together, and I had a real friend for the first time in a long time. I told you things I was afraid to before, at first because I didn't remember why I shouldn't, and then because I saw that I could. Then…then I started to fall for you," Vic confessed. "I didn't think you'd want to spend time with me if you knew I had my memory back. I didn't want to lose you," he whispered this last, not meeting Mac's eyes, afraid of what he might see there.

Vic's words had washed Mac's anger away. He tenderly placed a finger under his partner's chin and lifted his head to meet Mac's eyes. "Started to fall?" he asked.

There was desperation in Vic's eyes. "Catch me?" he pleaded.

"Yes," Mac breathed, leaning down to brush his lips against Vic's. The kiss was tentative, a nervous question. Sighing, Vic drew Mac down for another kiss, this one deeper and longer. Lips and tongues tangled together, tasting each other, exploring as the kiss grew hungry. "Home…" Mac murmured when they finally broke apart.

"Yes…" Vic answered.

The nearest apartment was Mac's. They'd spent enough time there together that it felt like the right place to go. During the drive over the tension between them grew somewhat awkward, but the moment Mac closed his door behind them the heat was back. They came together swiftly, hands daring to explore as their passionate kiss went on. In their urgency they broke a few buttons getting each other out of their clothing. Mac grinned as Vic sent one of his flying and purposefully popped one off of Vic's shirt.

The ex-cop laughed after a moment and tumbled the two of them down onto Mac's bed. They landed in a tangle of limbs, a laughter gone in the face of the desire that the slide of bare skin against bare skin produced. Breathless gasps and moans filled the apartment. Vic gained the upper hand for a moment and kissed his way from Mac's mouth down his neck to suckle gently at his nipples. The ex-thief groaned his name and arched into the caress, hands sliding over Vic's shoulders and back and buttocks.

Then Mac flipped Vic onto his back and slid down his length in a full body caress that end with Mac's mouth at Vic's groin. He licked the bead of pre-cum from Vic's erection, savoring the taste for a moment before taking Vic entirely into his mouth in one long stroke. The ex-cop screamed with the pleasure of it, his hands clenching the sheets as he writhed under Mac's talented mouth. He didn't last long, with Mac's tongue stroking his length and his throat massaging his cock. Vic finally came when he looked down and saw it really was Mac going down on him, and he yelled Mac's name and arched like a bow with the intensity of it.

When he was spent Mac moved up to kiss him deeply, and Vic moaned to taste himself on Mac's lips. He could feel Mac's erection prodding him in the hip and he smiled with lazy satiation. "Maybe I can help with that," he murmured huskily, his hand moving to encircle Mac's cock firmly. The ex-thief moaned deeply, the touch sending spikes of pleasure through him. "What do you want," Vic asked, "tell me what you want."

"I want you," Mac groaned, "I want to make love to you."

The thought sent a thrill through Vic, and he felt his cock stir again. "Yes!" he answered, and fumbled for the drawer to Mac's beside table. Sure enough, he found lube and condoms there. He chuckled a little, "Do you get lucky that often, or are you just a Boy Scout?" he asked.

"I was waiting for you," Mac answered, heat in his eyes and his voice. Vic could only answer with a passionate kiss, putting all his love into it.

"Make love to me," he whispered into Mac's ear, and pressed the lube into his partner's hand.

Mac didn't need to be asked twice. Vic lay down on his back and Mac moved to kneel between his legs. "Have to done this before?" he asked the ex-cop. Vic nodded wordlessly. Mac licked his lips unconsciously and squeezed a bit of lube out of the tube. He smoothed it over the opening to Vic's body, and then slowly pushed a finger inside. Vic was totally relaxed, and Mac's finger slipped inside easily. He used a little more lube and pushed two inside. Vic groaned then and squirmed, pushing himself down onto his partner's fingers. Mac was gasping for breath, trembling with need as he scissored his fingers to make sure Vic was ready.

"Mac, please!" Victor moaned, writhing. His cock was fully erect again. Hearing the plea, Mac withdrew his fingers, eliciting a whimper of protest, and coated his cock with lube. Setting the tube aside, he moved to the entrance to Vic's body and began pushing forward slowly. Vic gasped as the head of Mac's cock slipped inside and stopped squirming for a moment so that he could get used to it. After a moment, he nodded for his partner to go on. Mac slowly sheathed himself in Vic's body, the unbelievably tight heat making him groan almost continuously. Finally, he was all the way inside. He laid his head on Vic's chest for a moment, allowing himself to calm down so that he could move without losing control.

Vic prompted him after a moment with a slow rocking motion of his body. Taking the hint, Mac pulled out a little and then slid back into his partner. Vic moaned his name and arched into the motion. Mac held himself to long, slow strokes for awhile, before his body took over and sped up the thrusts. Vic moved to meet his strokes, his hands gripped Mac's shoulders. Then Vic arched and came again, the clenching of his muscles triggering Mac's release as well. Their voices blended, mixing each other's names in cries of passion.

Mac collapsed against Vic's chest, spent. After a long pause, he slipped out of his partner, both of the moaning in loss, and moved to spoon up behind Vic. "I love you," he murmured as sleep crept up on them.

"I love you, too," Vic answered, and reached back to lay one hand on Mac's hip. He pulled the covers over both of them with the other hand.

Vic woke the next morning the warm, comfortable circle of Mac's arms. He smiled as he remembered the night before, and turned to face his lover, who was already awake. "How long have you been awake?" he asked.

"About an hour," Mac admitted. "I wanted you to wake up in my arms like I woke up with you."

"Thank you," Vic murmured. "Li Ann never was a cuddler," he mused, "but I always loved to be held."

"Yeah," Mac agreed, "me too." They held each other for a moment more before reluctantly rising from bed. They had to go to work that day, after all. "Share the shower?" Mac asked.

"We'll be late if we do," Vic answered, grinning.

"I'll take that as a yes," Mac said with a grin of his own.

As predicted they arrived at their meeting late. Technically, they were still supposed to be doing surveillance, although another team had taken over for the night. The three of them were meeting The Director only to report on progress so far.

"Have a good night, boys?" The Director asked mischievously. Mac and Vic glanced at each other and then nervously back at The Director.

Sitting, Mac leaned over to Vic and asked, "Why do I get the feeling she knows exactly what happened last night?"

"Oh, I'm perfectly aware of your little discovery," she said to Mac. The two men watched her tensely before she said, "Vic, you really should have told us when your memory came back." Mac and Vic let out a sigh of relief even as Li Ann looked over at them, surprised. "You certainly would've saved Mac a lot of…tension," The Director finished, a smile playing over her lips.

"Would someone clue me in here?" Li Ann said, irritated.

"Oh, I'm sure Mac and Vic will come out with it eventually," The Director said slyly.

"Can we just get to work?" Mac asked desperately. Vic started laughing. "What?"

"That…" Vic said, unable to restrain his mirth, "from you!"

Pretty soon they were all laughing, though Li Ann still looked a little confused. Mac and Vic just grinned and turned their attention to the business at hand.

\--End--


End file.
